toastyghosty13's reviews
187 reviews

Summoned to the Wilds by A.K. Caggiano

adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i liked this a lot more than the first one!

the lore drops were great, it was cool seeing more of the magic system and plenty of new places. although this book is ~150 pages shorter than the first book, it felt so much longer (in a good way) from all the new locations, characters, and and info we got. this really secured me in liking this series. 

one of my major complaints for the last book was about the maturity level and it felt a lot more balanced this time. it leaned more into what felt right for 2 characters age 25 & 27 while still giving some great slow burn (but srsly it was so obvious yall were into each other just go at it already). 

this book was still cheesy but in a more balanced amount (subjectively for what i like in fantasy). i still rolled my eyes at some of it but there were cute touches i like too (fuck me up with some cute

penguin butlers

). 

i also learned that this series is self published, which made it even more impressive. that alone moves this from 3.75 to 4 stars, we love an indie artist with passion 🖤🖤

i immediately bought the other 3 books in the series, this has brought me out of my reading slump that has desecrated my reading goals so far in 2025 (it’s end of march rn)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment

Minor: Sexual assault

Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

this was cute, kinda reminded me of assistant to the villain where the villain isn’t really the bad guy. 

i found amma to be a bit annoying for the first 50% or so but got used to her constant damsel in distress shtick by the end. she is incredibly endearing, which makes up for the whining since it is a good contrast to how damien is evil. 

damien and amma are cute despite sometimes also being a bit cringe. why are we asking a 27 year old man who is deemed handsome if he has ever kissed a girl before, only to find out

he’s had threesomes?? and also extensively show kinks like getting tied up???

i feel like the author needed to choose a level of maturity for this book and just stick with it rather than have a mix of mature and YA. 

this book is super cheesy, which was sometime fun and sometimes extremely cringe. i liked the random lore drops and the ending was fun so i will read the 2nd book. i am invested enough in the world and the overarching plot/conflicts they have to solve (both damien’s father and whoever this mysterious

enloc

is). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood

Minor: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Did not finish book. Stopped at 1%.

i never actually got into it, i will be reading at some point though. i am just not in the mood for a sci fi rn. 

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i am obsessed with lilith and vale and extremely upset that we don’t get more than a novella. i need a full length book stat, just bc i love lilith so much. i need to see her doing whacky experiments and being a lab gremlin absolutely slaying life helping with whatever the mainline characters need. vale also seems like the make war general version of her and i love that they have each other to geek out over stuff. 

please carissa even just one standalone full length book (like slaying the vampire conqueror) on lilith and vale would suffice. 

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i could not stop reading this. the lore and chaos was so good, plus the romance was mixed in there so well. oraya has so many reveals that would probably fuck up anyone and she takes them in stride (except for the beginning but like completely reasonable to be in a depression pit considering what happened from the last book).  

lots of interesting lore. i also liked how the ending still has a lot of loose ends to be further explored but also tied up a lot of things. i did find the conflict resolution to be a bit too quick but i appreciated that overall it was in a way i was not expecting.  

i need to restrain myself from reading book 3 bc book 4 is not out until august. 

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the audiobook for this must suck bc this was soooooo much better for me this time around. i originally listened to the audiobook for this and found it meh, but after this i am hooked and actually need to pace myself since book 4 is not out until august. 

this has vampires in a game competition kind of like hunger games except all fantasy and the prize is a wish from a goddess. the romance is so good and well balanced with all of the twists and secrets. the ending is crazy and i’m rabid for book 2. oraya is a great FMC and is not annoying to me in the slightest (unlike some other fantasy FMCs i have read in the past)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i loved the aesthetic of every part of this book, but was a bit confused by the plot and the point of it all by the time i got to the end. the premise was definitely there and the characters are so interesting but i find myself asking “why?” still at the end. i am probably going to read the rest of this series, partially bc i want to know what happens and partially bc i heard the prequel series “Once Upon a Broken Heart” is better but that you are supposed to read it after Caravals books. 

Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nah i love them sm and i am sad that it’s over and that leather and lark bombed for me so much. 

i thought rose and fionn were super cute (mainly i loved rose). sometimes i found fionn great and others i found him flat like he was just a hot doctor that didnt really have much going on upstairs. 

at first i thought the ending was a bit odd and forced but then the author really made it work and i actually ended up finding it to be super sweet and lovey dovey. i expected the epilogue ending too considering how the other books ended. 

i also appreciate how

the author left it open to do a new book or series within the same universe, following a minor character from B&B that Sloane helped save

. 

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i liked the lore and info we got in this one. might be the best book of the series so far. hate that it ended on a crazy cliffhanger but also am pretty pleased with how much i enjoyed this book considering how quickly RY turned around and wrote it after the iron flame release, plus my feelings about iron flames were somewhat negative. 

the new places we saw were cool and i am looking forward to more with the rest of the series!

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

alls i knows is that the prose is beautiful and this book weird as hell. one of the most unique love stories i’ve ever read. it’s one of those things that doesn’t necessarily make sense but i will probably remember this book for the rest of my life only because it proves that one of the meanings and purposes of life is love. 

crazy ending but all i could think of was when gunther turns into orgalorg and is flying towards the earth in adventure time lmfao